Free Web NovelChapter 2: Chapter 2: Never Fight a Battle Without Certainty
Back when her mother was alive, she and Joseph Shaw had founded a logistics company that partnered with several e-commerce platforms.
Her mother passed away when she was eight. Joseph Shaw was devastated and lost all interest in managing the company. Their finances gradually went downhill, and within two years, the company declared bankruptcy.
Later, Joseph Shaw was looking for a job and ended up at the Kane Family’s company, where he caught the eye of Vianne Kane’s mother, Bianca Kane. They dated for about two years and got married when Sophie was thirteen. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Although it was a second marriage for both of them, he was, after all, a live-in son-in-law who came with a child in tow. After the wedding, Joseph Shaw lived cautiously, doing everything he could to please Bianca Kane. He and his daughter had no status whatsoever in the Kane Family.
’It’s bad enough that my dad is a live-in son-in-law... but why is my boyfriend following in his footsteps to become one for the Kane Family too?’
Sophie Shaw took a few deep breaths, a pang of anguish piercing her heart.
She unbuckled her seatbelt, got out of the car, grabbed her luggage from the trunk, and turned to walk toward the gate.
Alaric Blackwood stared at her pitiful, retreating figure, then opened an umbrella and got out of the car. He couldn’t help but call out, "Wait a second."
Sophie Shaw stopped in her tracks and turned around. "Mr. Blackwood, don’t try to stop me. I’m not staying here."
"My jacket."
"..."
She wiped her face with her hand, pulled off the soaking-wet men’s jacket, and strode toward the man holding the umbrella. "Thanks. Here you go."
"It’s pouring. You’re planning to walk back in this?"
"I’ll get a cab."
"What cab are you going to get at two-thirty in the morning?"
"You don’t need to concern yourself, Mr. Blackwood."
She hadn’t even made it out of the yard, still getting drenched by the rain, when a large, warm hand suddenly grabbed her wrist. Alaric Blackwood had caught up to her. His fingers tightened around her slender wrist, pulling her under his umbrella.
"Go inside and take a hot shower first, or you’ll get sick."
"I won’t try anything. You can take the guest room."
"If you’re still worried, then you stay here and I’ll leave."
Sophie Shaw stared at the man in surprise. ’Why is he so insistent about this?’
’He seems so roguish, but I didn’t expect him to be such a gentleman.’
’Most importantly, they barely even know each other!’
Suddenly, she remembered what he’d said: "The news about Damian Morgan’s wedding is true. He’s marrying my childhood sweetheart."
’Does he have feelings for Vianne Kane?’
"You..."
Not wanting to hear another word of refusal from her, Alaric Blackwood dragged her up the steps and forcefully pulled her into the house.
Sophie Shaw couldn’t help but frown, feeling as if her wrist was about to be crushed by his grip.
’He’s not just rough, he’s incredibly strong... like an ox.’
She pulled her wrist back, rubbing the reddened skin, her eyes wary.
The man closed the umbrella, took a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet in the entryway, and tossed them at her feet. Then he changed his own shoes and strode into the living room.
She hesitated for a moment before putting on the slippers.
Seeing her standing timidly in the entryway, Alaric Blackwood walked over, grabbed her wrist again, and led her to a guest room with an en-suite bathroom. He then grabbed a clean bathrobe and tossed it to her.
"The guest room has everything you need, and the laundry room is at the end of the hall. Feel free to wash and dry your wet clothes."
Having said his piece, the man turned and left without another word.
Sophie Shaw peeked her head out of the room and saw that Alaric Blackwood hadn’t left, but had gone upstairs instead.
She stared at the white bathrobe in her hands, listening to the low rumble of thunder and the sound of the pouring rain outside. Her heart felt empty and a little bitter.
’Though I hate to admit it, Alaric Blackwood is right.’
’If I go back to the Kane family looking this pathetic, I’ll be a laughingstock. And if Alaric Blackwood is right and Damian Morgan has moved in as their son-in-law, then what does that make me?’ freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
’What did our three years together even mean?’
She’d met Damian Morgan during her sophomore year of college; he was the one who pursued her. After graduation, he interned at a company for a few months, then decided to start his own business. He’d claimed his parents sold everything they owned to support him. She heard him complain about his struggles time and again, so she gave him all her prize money from college competitions, along with her entire life savings.
That included her savings—a full three million.
She didn’t look for another job, instead going straight to work at Damian Morgan’s company to help him. To this day, he had never once paid her a salary.
Knowing his family was struggling and that the startup phase was difficult, she never once complained.
’I gave so much. I was even willing to abandon everything to elope with him...’
’And what did I get in return?’
’He’s marrying someone else!’
Sophie’s nose stung, and tears streamed down her face.
"Bastard!"
"You’d better give me a reasonable explanation!"
She muttered to herself, wiped away her tears, and took the bathrobe into the bathroom for a long, hot shower.
There were new toiletries and a hairdryer in the bathroom cabinet.
She quickly washed up and dried her hair. Then, she took her wet clothes to the laundry room, putting them through a wash and then a drying cycle. By the time she was finished, it was already five in the morning.
Outside, the thunder and rain had both quieted down.
She carried the dried clothes back to the guest room and lay down on the bed, her mind a total mess. Sleep was impossible.
She lay wide awake until dawn, when her phone suddenly buzzed.
It was a message from Damian Morgan: [Where are you? Let’s meet.]
Sophie Shaw didn’t know where she was either.
She checked her location—Maplewood Estate, a well-known upscale residential area in Kingsport, named for its large maple forest. The people who lived here were either rich or powerful.
She sent her location to Damian Morgan, who replied instantly: [I’m on my way to pick you up. I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.]
Putting down her phone, Sophie Shaw lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, spacing out for a full ten minutes. Then she got up, changed back into her own clothes, and quietly tiptoed out of the room.
The rain had stopped. The bluestone path in the courtyard looked brand new, washed clean by the downpour. She pulled her suitcase along the path out of the courtyard. Once outside, she had to rely on her memory from the night before to navigate toward the exit of the residential area.
Alaric Blackwood stood on the second-floor balcony, his expression unreadable, quietly watching her retreating figure.
His phone rang.
The caller ID read—Mrs. Ford.
He brought the phone to his ear and answered, "Mrs. Ford, calling so early?"
It was just six-thirty.
The old woman’s kind voice came through the receiver, "Why are you calling me Mrs. Ford? Aren’t you two about to get married? Call me Grandma."
"Grandma."
A faint smile touched Alaric Blackwood’s lips. Not wanting to listen to the old woman’s nagging, he obediently changed how he addressed her.
That one word, "Grandma," made the old woman laugh out loud with delight. "Alaric, when are you going to bring Sophie to have a meal with me?"
"That depends on the situation."
"How hard can it be to have one meal?"
"Grandma, be a little patient."
Sophie Shaw was Mrs. Ford’s biological granddaughter.
The Blackwood and Ford families were old family friends. His mother and Sophie’s mother, Mina Ford, were as close as sisters. Back then, Mina Ford had a falling out with her family in order to be with the dirt-poor Joseph Shaw.
After Mina Ford passed away, the Ford Family failed to win custody of Sophie Shaw. Joseph Shaw then applied for a court order to prohibit them from seeing Sophie again.
"My dear Alaric, I want to see my granddaughter."
"Grandma, just wait a few more days. I promise you’ll get to see her."
"Then be honest with your grandma. When is your and Sophie’s wedding?"
Alaric Blackwood hesitated for a few seconds, then chose not to hide it and told the truth. "Strictly speaking, it’s not set yet. She actually rejected me just last night."
"But, don’t worry, Grandma. There’s still a chance to turn things around."
Mrs. Ford’s mood was like a rollercoaster, going up and down. "Alaric, how confident are you about the marriage?"
"One hundred percent."
"Are you sure?"
"Grandma, I never fight a battle I’m not sure I can win."
